Henri Rousseau (1844–1910), French
Tiger in a Tropical Storm (or Surprised!), 1891 (oil painting)
As an ARTIST:
Use experiences and ideas as
the inspiration for artwork.
Learn about the work of a
range of artists, artisans and
designers.
As a WRITER:
Present information.
Write stories with imaginary
settings.
As a GEOGRAPHER:
Use world maps, atlases and
globes.
As an MUSICIAN:
Make and combine sounds
using the inter-related
dimensions of music.
Use basic geographical
vocabulary to refer to and
describe key physical and
human features of locations.
Use aerial photographs.
Through COMMUNICATION:
Debate issues and formulate
well-constructed points.
Awesome Art - Milestone 1
Use fieldwork and
observational skills.
© 2016 Chris Quigley Education Ltd.
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Awesome Art - Milestone 1
© 2016 Chris Quigley Education Ltd.
What can we see?
Leaping into this painting is a tiger. He’s in mid-flight, ears pricked back, eyes alert, staring
straight ahead. What prey will those sharp teeth sink into?
But what if the tiger is the prey? What if something (or someone) is chasing him? Instead
of being a ferocious predator, perhaps he is afraid and running for his life? Can you hear
him panting, his heart pumping fast? The grasses and other plants swish and break, as
they are being trampled and pushed aside with his speedy paws.
Or, perhaps he’s not being chased at all. He might instead be frightened of the
lightning flashing in the sky, not knowing where it is going to strike next. Maybe he’s
desperately trying to seek shelter. The booming thunder could be scaring him. He could
be disorientated, trying to find his family. The strong wind is blowing the trees to almost
snapping point and the sheeting rain stripes the canvas in the same direction.
The question is, who is Surprised! and by what?
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Things of interest
Rousseau was a master at melding many sources of information with his own vivid
imagination. He never travelled to a real rainforest, in fact he never left France in his
whole lifetime. Therefore, he would not have seen either wild animals or tropical plants
in their natural habitat. Instead, to inform the making of his jungle fantasy pictures (Tiger
in a Tropical Storm is just one of these), he visited the botanical gardens where he lived,
in Paris, and took inspiration from books and other artists’ work. We call a picture that is
composed from a variety of sources a ‘composite’.
His first-hand observational studies of exotic plants would have focused on the colour
and structure of leaves. This accounts for the array of green shades in Tiger in a Tropical
Storm. Contrasting with the mass of green are a few bright red touches (a few plants
and the tiger’s lips). Because green and red are opposites on the colour wheel they
complement each other (hence the name ‘complementary colours’).
Having not encountered a wild animal in a jungle, Rousseau’s tiger is almost cuddly, like
a huge domestic cat painted with stripes. Perhaps that’s what the original source was,
together with some sketches he might have made of tigers in a zoo?
Awesome Art - Milestone 1
© 2016 Chris Quigley Education Ltd.
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Awesome Art - Milestone 1
© 2016 Chris Quigley Education Ltd.
About the artist
Henri Rousseau was born in 1844 in Laval, a market town in north-west France. He
famously worked as a clerk in a toll office in Paris, administrating tax duty on goods
coming into the city, giving him the nickname of Le Douanier (the customs officer).
Rousseau only started painting in his late thirties and was self-taught (meaning that
he never attended art school). He gained permission to paint in front of masterpieces
in the Louvre in 1884, and by copying these he learnt about painting techniques and
composition.
During Rousseau’s lifetime, art critics considered the style of his work naïve, but some
respected artists, including Paul Gauguin, Félix Vallotton, Robert Delaunay and Picasso,
championed him. The dream-like atmosphere he evoked in his painting aligned with
new ideas being discussed at the time relating to the unconscious mind, as outlined in
Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, published in 1899.
He gained more recognition for his work towards the end of his life. In the year he died
(1910) his painting The Dream (another of his fantasy jungle scenes) was exhibited at the
Salon des Indépendants, Paris, to general acclaim. However, he was in debt for much of
his career and died impoverished.
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Basic
As a GEOGRAPHER: Use world maps, atlases and globes.
It is a dangerous tropical storm. What is it like being in a tropical storm? BBC Two has
a great YouTube clip entitled: ‘Henri Rousseau’s Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!)
explained’. Tell others where these habitats could possibly be. Use the DESCRIBE-it,
PLACE-it or LIST-it page to help.
As an ARTIST: Use experiences and ideas as the inspiration for artwork.
Use colour charts to match and describe the many different colours in the painting. The
jungle is vibrant and alive with colour. It is alive with lightning, wind and rain. Be more
specific than just ‘green’. Be descriptive with colour and use adjectives or adverbs to add
extra detail to help describe the painting. Label these on the painting. Use the DESCRIBEit or LIST-it page to help. You could also use the RECALL-it page.
As a GEOGRAPHER: Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to and describe key
physical and human features of locations.
Henri Rousseau never ventured out of France. Locate where you think he should
have visited to see real places, like the ones he painted. Find them on a map. Use the
DESCRIBE-it or PLACE-it page to show where he may have wanted to explore and visit.
Awesome Art - Milestone 1
© 2016 Chris Quigley Education Ltd.
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Awesome Art - Milestone 1
© 2016 Chris Quigley Education Ltd.
As an ARTIST: Use experiences and ideas as the inspiration for artwork.
Take a spotlight from the painting. Use the ZOOM-it page to show the part that interests
you. It could be the ferocious tiger with wild eyes, or the jiving grasses with their long,
razor sharp fingers …
As a WRITER: Present information.
Henri Rousseau lived an interesting life, but died without any money. Map his life
successes and challenges in chronological order using the FOOTSTEP-it, SEQUENCEit or TIMELINE-it page. Find out dates and places, such as when he was born, where he
grew up, who influenced him and more. The CONNECT-it and PROFILE-it maps may help
here too.
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Advancing
As a GEOGRAPHER: Use aerial photographs.
Make an aerial drawing of the painting using the VIEW-it page. Imagine you are in a
helicopter flying above the painting. What features would you see? Where would you
place them?
Through COMMUNICATION: Debate issues and formulate well-constructed points.
Henri Rousseau said, ‘When I step into the hothouses and see the plants from exotic
lands, it seems to me that I am in a dream.’ Explain what you understand by this. Use the
EXPLAIN-it page to help.
As an ARTIST: Learn about the work of a range of artists, artisans and designers.
Study another famous painting Henri Rousseau created, such as Tropical Forest with Apes
and Snake. Use the COMPARE-it or TALENT-it page to spot techniques or colours that
are similar to or different from those used in Tiger in a Tropical Storm.
Awesome Art - Milestone 1
© 2016 Chris Quigley Education Ltd.
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Awesome Art - Milestone 1
© 2016 Chris Quigley Education Ltd.
As an ARTIST: Use experiences and ideas as the inspiration for artwork.
Modify the painting Tiger in a Tropical Storm (or Surprised!). Copy the techniques and
colour choice of Henri Rousseau but change one aspect. How would you change the way
the tiger was represented? Would you change the treeline or the grasses too? Use the
ZOOM-it or TRANSFORM-it page here if you like.
As a LINGUIST: Use colours or numbers in French to explain the painting in Henri
Rousseau’s language.
Organise your words so that you can compare the English with the French. The
COMPARE-it page may help.
As a WRITER: Write stories with imaginary settings.
Imagine you were hiding in the jungle, just out of sight of the tiger. The painting is alive
with senses. Use the EMOTION-it (and EMOTION colours and words) page, SENSE-it or
PERSON-it page to explain and infer feelings and emotions. What do you do, see, hear,
say, smell, feel? Why is this?
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Deep
As a GEOGRAPHER: Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to and describe key
physical and human features of locations.
Why should anyone believe you? Use the DEDUCE-it page to convince others that you
can use evidence in the painting to prove where this place is. Use the plants, weather,
animals and terrain to shape your conclusion. You could use the FORMULATE-it page as
well.
As a GEOGRAPHER: Use fieldwork and observational skills.
Henri Rousseau may have said that, ‘All tigers live in tropical jungles.’ Prove it! Do tigers
live in tropical jungles? You’ll need to research where tigers live, their habitat, the different
species and parts of the world they live in. The DEBATE-it, ARGUE-it or JUSTIFY-it pages
may help here.
As a WRITER: Write stories with imaginary settings.
This painting could be the end of an adventurous story. Using a story map, create the
backstory or the future-story to this painting. You’ll need to be imaginative and create
characters, settings and plots. The SEQUENCE-it, SPECULATE-it or PREDICT-it pages
are useful here.
Awesome Art - Milestone 1
© 2016 Chris Quigley Education Ltd.
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Awesome Art - Milestone 1
© 2016 Chris Quigley Education Ltd.
As an ARTIST: Learn about the work of a range of artists, artisans and designers.
Rousseau wasn’t formally educated at art school. Some people have said that his work
is naïve. One reporter in Paris said, ‘Monsieur Rousseau paints with his feet with his eyes
closed.’ Do you agree or disagree with them. Use the DEBATE-it or ARGUE-it pages to
help.
As a MUSICIAN: Make and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
This painting is two-dimensional. What if we were to compose sounds and music to
immerse people who are studying it? Compose sounds of the jungle, wind, rain, fear or
excitement. Record them and play them to people as they study the painting. Does it help
others to feel what Henri Rousseau wanted them to feel? The COMPOSE-it page may
help here.
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